Warwick Jumpers and Jazz Festival.

We were in dire need of a day out in the country, so off we went to Warwick where the annual Jumpers and Jazz in July was on.  It was hyped up as a real art, craft and jazz event, so I was pretty eager. Bob was, as usual, very accommodating, if not quite as eager.

It is a long drive from Brisbane ( about 2 hours) along the Cunningham Highway, but you get to drive through some very pretty and varied country once you are out of the city ( the roads on the way to Ipswich seem to be an ode to concrete). I especially love the Moogerah Peaks National Park.  I am fascinated by the incredible formations of the rocks  on the mountains.   A lot of the  mountains retain their volcanic shape, so you can clearly see their origins.  We always seem to go here on the way to somewhere.  Having more time to get out of the car and hike in the bush, like we once did, would be fantastic.  Another day. No photos, unfortunately, even though it was a very clear day.  They were digging up the road so we couldn't stop.  Apart from the natural terrain, the drive kept us entertained by the collection of odd sights on the way.  One driver had a sign " I have run out of oestrogen and I own a gun" - scary! Otherwise, I knitted and untangled wool ( still going on the eternal blanket) as we talked.

In spite of our GPS directing us to a back street instead of the city centre, we found the main street, and finally found a place to park.  Judging from the amount of cars and people, it is a very popular event.  What struck my eye was the amount of women wearing red in the town .   My sort of ladies!

There was town crier in full regalia taking groups round to explain the history of the town.  Other locals carried crocheted poles and gave out maps and information, which we took advantage of.  I was very impressed by the old 19th century buildings built from local sandstone and very well preserved.  It was obviously a very prosperous town in its heyday.  

I had been tempted to Warwick by the mention of yarn bombing, and the trees in the main road were indeed decorated, but unfortunately, not very many were knitted, crocheted or very artistic.  It is good to see that there was so much community involvement, especially by the local schools, but I had hoped for a bigger representation of work.  Still, it was fun.

There were quite a few jazz bands playing outside the town hall - some of them very good- and some people actually danced to the music.  Other buskers in the town weren't quite as professional but there was a choice of music to be had.   I had to restrain Bob from running away from the country and western droner.

We explored some of the art shops, but there didn't seem to be a large number and they didn't seem very special.  The Suitcase Rummage was rather small.  For me, the highlight was this lovely lady.

We discovered and observed the art of sheep shearing and examples of wares by the local spinners, weavers and knitters association,

 

 

and admired the works outside the Warwick Art Gallery.

 

Then, we entered the Portraits of a Tea Cosy exhibition.  This was excellent!  Some wonderful photographs and some very amusing tea cosies.  The highlight of the whole day, in my opinion.

Next, we popped over to the Pringles Vintage Museum and had a wonderful time exploring what life used to be like in the old days.  Thank God I wasn't a woman back in the days where you used to have to wash clothes by hand, make your own clothes, do housework and cook without the use modern gadgets.  On the other hand being a male shepherd - often Chinese immigrants or Ticket-of -leave men, was hardly a great life, if you looked inside the typical shepherd's hut which has been moved onto the grounds.  They have an incredible collection of items and buildings at the museum - all donated by locals.  I was very taken by the equipment used for printing, the inventive machines used for doing everything from carding horsehair for stuffing mattresses, to pressing cheese, to sewing together books, to churning butter.  Bob examined all the farm machinery with awe.

Unfortunately, there isn't much evidence of aboriginal life here except for a few tools and a replica of the Talgai skull ( the skull of a fourteen or fifteen year old aboriginal boy believed to have lived 9 to 11 thousand years ago).  The skull is now in the University of Sydney.  The special exhibit was "Bibs, Bonnets and All Things Baby" and had beautiful examples of embroidery, knitting, drawn threadworms, lace and handwork.   Women really knew their needlework in those days.

On the way back, we decided to go via Allora and take Gatton-Clifton road back. This time, entertainment was provided by a set of parachutists.  The route was not as steep as the the way there, but equally attractive.  The way down the mountains warned of rock falls and reminded you to fasten your seat belt, but we managed without mishaps  When we reached the Lockyer Valley, we decided that the country seems to have recovered a lot from the recent floods and the new crops were in the fields. Hopefully farmers can make up for the money they lost during the floods with a good season.

We arrived home exhausted.  If we had arrived the next day, we would have seen the craft exhibition. If I had booked, I could have done a workshop.  For outsiders, it is a pity the craft events are so spread out , but the locals must enjoy it all.  Not sure we would go back again, but it was, on the whole, an interesting day out.

Mixed media

This week, some friends kindly took me to the Philip Bacon Galleries, to see the Cressida Campbell exhibition.  Absolutely amazing!  I could never afford her work ( the cheapest was $6,500 and the dearest, $85,000), but lots of other people can.  Her work was, apparently, all pre-sold.  Her method is amazing.  Some pieces are drawings on pencil onto marine plywood.  These are the pieces I liked most, as the patterns in the wood add to the effect.

 

(Details from "Flannel Flowers", 2011-13.

 

(Detail from "Nasturtiums and Ceramics", 2011-12)

 

("Mandy" 2012)

 

 Others are pencil drawn onto the plywood, then carefully etched, then the watercolour paint is thickly applied, and this is pressed onto paper to make a print. Both the wood image ( with the paint touched up) and the paper print are on show, but I like the wood image best!

(Detail from "Japanese Print and Clivias", 2013)

 

(Detail from "Flannel Flowers", 2013)

("Detail from "Hoya Still Life", 2013)

 

(a very crooked photo of "Interior with Poppies, Margaret Olley's House, 1994)

Also at the gallery were works by people like Margaret Preston, Criss Canning, Charles Blackman, Michael Zavros and Brett Whitely!  Wonderful!

I fell in  love with "Hatchlings", by Kathleen Shillam, 1990.

 

On the way back to the car, we came across the Heiser Gallery, where there was an exhibition of work by Lyndell Brown and Charles Green.  Again, the techniques used  were fascinating: a mixture of photography and oil painting and collage, sometimes on plastic.

And we came across these wonderful vines on a wall:

 

What a lucky woman I am to have friends who take me to see sights like all of these.

Back to what I have been up to:

At last!  I have finished my blue and white quilt!  It is quilted in a sort of sashiko style, with the variegated blue and white thread so there is a pattern on the reverse.  I experimented with the border by using a tie rather than a mitred corner.  I quite like my tribute to Japan!

 

Now, I am doing more quick impressions on nude backs, using Staedtler  triplus fine liners, then moistening the sketch with a watercolour brush.  These quick studies will be photocopied onto cotton, then used to extend my nude back quilt.

I have been also doing a lot of  sketching and doodling, working on ideas for my etching and for future works.

I've prepared and etched two copper plates.  Hopefully, next week I'll have the chance to print from them.

And, I've finally finished my Hare House!

But I am still knitting that blanket.

Getting inspiration from others

This week has been a bit of an anticlimax as far as the completed, production of art or craft is concerned, but I have still been very busy.

One day, I attended a knitting bee at a friend's house and was really inspired by what she has been up to, and her collection of art books.  She is in the process of making placemats from Kaffe Fasset materials adhered to maisonite and thin cork, and sealed with estapol.  Very funky!

She has also covered the tops of stools and tables with fabric:

 She and her grandchildren have been making little bowls from plastic beads:

And, she has made collagraphs from cardboard:

Of course,  I did knit, but she also introduced me to several artists like Cressida Campbell and Jorg Schmeisser - both incredible printmakers.

I went to my first etching class at the BIA and was  similarly blown away by the work of my fellow students.  Such a variety of styles, techniques and work!  I can't wait for their upcoming exhibition (more details later).  I didn't do much more than draw, in preparation for printing, but I still enjoyed myself intensely.  Plus on the way out, got to catch a glimpse of the latest exhibition:

Meantime, I have been developing my hare house, quilting my blue and white quilt, drawing and knitting.  Hopefully, I will complete some of these soon and move on to the next project.  I am missing my painting.

Back to acting like an adult

I am back to doing arts and crafts as an adult, so any of you who want to continue getting ideas for things to do with children will have to turn to my favourite ideas' blog, my daughter's www.kaetoo.blogspot.com.au.

Much as I enjoy being with youngsters, and even though I am in many ways a fairly conservative person, I am quite happy with being a "mature" adult these days where there are less rules about how to dress, what to wear, how to act and what to think than in previous generations.  I get great inspiration from women like Iris Apfel, Judith Dench, Beatrix Ost, the late Margaret Olley, Angelique Kidjo, Emma Thompson, Maya Angelou, Jane Goodall, and men like Michael Kirby, Nelson Mandela, Akira Asigowa, Jean Paul Gautier, Billy Connolly, Kazuo Ishigura and Samuel L. Jackson, all people who don't fit into boxes whether in personal style, behaviour, or attitudes , and have the courage to break rules. This very convoluted train of thought derives from the fact that I am currently working while listening to Triple J ( a "young people's  radio station" for those of you not in the know) for the first time  in a while, dressed in a track suit, with coloured socks and fluffy slippers covered in hearts, my hair in a messy Afro, planning some more koi fish, and thinking of my over-40's, very interesting, and very individual friends.

To move on to more logically linked, and more relevant, thoughts, I am working  a bit of a hotch potch of activities at the moment.

The knitted blanket is plodding along slowly.

I have started making more felt animals and have completed two hand dyed felt horses from the patterns in  "Sew Soft Toys".  I love them!  I have always wanted my own real horse and these are nearly as good as having one.

I am also making more clothing for my hares, and am in the process of making a fabric house to keep them in.

 This cloth house is proving to be problematic as my plan must have been done on a fried brain and none of the panels matches together.  I am having to unpick and redesign, and, as a result, am running out of fabric.  What an idiot! I once was told by a primary school principal that mathematics is unimportant as a skill because very few people use it in adult life.  As you can imagine, even though I was an Arts major, I exploded at the time.  My life as a crafter is proving that Maths does matter.

I have finished joining my blue and white Japanese squares together, have backed them with wadding and cotton, and am using the threads I bought in Takayama, Japan, to quilt them with.

  I love blue and and white round the house.  It adds so much light, crispness and homeliness.  Perhaps that is why so much of my china is blue and white - both the Asian pieces and the European ones.

 

This week I start my etching classes.  I am very excited.  Must go through my sketches for some inspiration.